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Phone Calls from Political Parties and Candidates

The CRTC is responsible for establishing and maintaining the Voter Contact Registry, which was created to ensure that those who contact voters during an election do so transparently.

The Voter Contact Registry helps protect Canadians by:

Imposing greater transparency and accountability on those who contact voters during federal elections;

Helping us investigate cases where rules about voter contact during federal elections have been violated; and

Ensuring compliance through the ability to issue monetary penalties of up to $1,500 per violation for individuals, and up to $15,000 per violation for corporations and other groups.

Certain entities who call Canadians during an election period for any purpose related to an election must register with us within 48 hours of making the first call.

Complain

If you suspect you have been called by someone who has not properly registered with the Voter Contact Registry, you can make a complaint.

Phone calls

Regardless of whether you are registered with the National Do Not Call List (DNCL), you may still receive calls from political parties and candidates. While they are exempt from the DNCL Rules, they are not exempt from the Telemarketing or ADAD Rules.

This means that if you receive a phone call from a political party or candidate and they are soliciting you (e.g., requesting campaign donations), you can ask to be added to their internal do-not-call-list.